1 Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a jet-propelled watercraft which obtains a propulsion force by discharging a water jet from a nozzle and which can turn its hull by swinging the nozzle to the left and right.
2 Description of Background Art
A jet-propelled watercraft is configured to obtain a propulsion force by discharging a water jet and change the direction of its hull by changing the direction of the water jet. It cannot change its direction when no water jet is discharged. When a rider driving such a jet-propelled watercraft gets around an obstacle, he or she tends to slow down the watercraft and, at the same time, change the direction of the watercraft by turning its handlebar. Closing the throttle valve by releasing the throttle lever so as to slow down the watercraft, however, stops the water jet making the watercraft unable to change its direction. A jet-propelled watercraft, therefore, requires a configuration in which, when the watercraft is making a turn, a water jet required to enable the watercraft to turn is maintained even if the throttle valve of the watercraft is completely closed.
A known method to maintain a propulsion force of a water jet even when the throttle valve is completely closed and the handlebar is turned is to use a configuration in which, even when operation to close the throttle valve is performed, the throttle valve is kept open for a prescribed amount of time to allow a water jet to be discharged (see JP-A No. 2002-303170, for example).
There are, however, problems with a configuration in which, when operations to close the throttle valve and to turn the watercraft are performed at the same time, the throttle valve is kept open for a prescribed amount of time. Namely, such a configuration requires a fuel injection device with a complicated configuration, and a control unit to control such operations also becomes complicated.